After the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan River, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, "Choose twelve men, one from each tribe, and tell them to take twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, right where the priests stood. Carry them to the place where you will camp tonight."
Joshua called the twelve men he had appointed and told them, "Go into the middle of the Jordan before the Ark of the Lord your God. Each man must lift a stone onto his shoulder—one for each tribe of Israel. These stones will serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the waters of the Jordan stopped flowing before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. These stones will be a lasting memorial for the people of Israel."
The Israelites did exactly as Joshua commanded. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each tribe, as the Lord had instructed, and carried them to their camp. Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the very spot where the priests had stood, and those stones remained there for generations.
The priests carrying the Ark stayed in the middle of the river until everything the Lord commanded Joshua was completed. The people hurried across, and when all had finished, the priests came up from the river while everyone watched. As soon as their feet touched dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned and flowed as before, flooding its banks.
On the tenth day of the first month, the Israelites camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. There, Joshua set up the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan and said to the Israelites, "In the future, when your children ask, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you just as He dried up the Red Sea before us. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, and so that you may always fear the Lord your God."